Monday, April 25, 2016

Hocus Pocus | Fashion

Hello, hello, hello! I'm back! I don't know how often I'll be posting on here, I'm not going to hold myself to schedule. Haha However, I do miss blogging; I'll be doing some fashion stuff with friends, like my beautiful friend, Aleya, featured in this post, beauty, lifestyle, etc. This blog is my oyster! I hope you're happy to see me back and I look forward to what's to come. :)

Oh Please Tank Top - Forever 21
Black Belt  (similar) -H&M
Black High-low maxi skirt (similar) - Ebay
Floppy Hat (similar) - Maurices
Open Toe Heels (similar) - Ebay


Crescent Pendant Choker (similar) - Bad Witch Boutique


Sunday, March 20, 2016

The Highlights #7

Aloha! I'm feeling super chipper today and I'm very grateful for that! I've had quite a wonderful week and I hope you have as well! <3 The absolute highlight of the week had to be getting my driver's license finally!!! This is a huge deal for me because I'm about seven years late on getting my license, so to finally have it after all of the procrastination and fear is amazing. My family and friends, I'm sure, are super stoked because they won't have to drive me around anymore. LOL But in all seriousness, they are all very proud of me. :)





I have a bit of an announcement about my little blog here. This will be the last post for a little while (I know, shock horror, I'm taking another blog break, who would've guessed? LOL). I started blogging again wanting to be consistent and organized about it and I've somewhat achieved that, but I'm not feeling very passionate about what I write about. I want to continue blogging, but I want to be proud of what I write and put out into the world. I'll be taking a little break just to regroup and figure out what I really want to do with my little corner of the internet.  While I'm away, check out my very good and talented friend, Nala's blog! I took some photos for her most recent post and it was such a pleasure to photograph such beautiful work! Check it out!


I'll see you all very soon and if you still want to keep up with me, I will still be very active on my Youtube channel, so go ahead and subscribe if you fancy! All the love! xx

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Just In: JustFab Silas Bag


I don't buy bags very often, but I had a credit on the website Shoedazzle and spotted the Silas bag and clicked add to cart immediately! It's such a beautiful bag. I honestly have nothing like it. My bag collection mainly consists of unstructured, younger looking bags and this is just so classic. I've been calling it my "business woman bag"! I just feel that it looks so classy and I love the style of a structured, simple black bag. The Celine bags have been calling to me for years. ;) I love that this is so affordable, but looks and feels very high quality.

I won't go into too much detail because I'm planning on filming a What's in my Bag? video very soon where I'll show the Silas in it's full glory. For now, I'll say it's a pebbled, black bag with gold hardware and a detachable shoulder strap. It has three sections inside, which I'm obsessed with because literally every bag I own has one giant section; very messy! The three sections will keep things a lot more organized (or so I'm hoping). Overall, I'm so, so excited to have this in my possession! Keep an eye on my channel for the video if you'd like to see the bag in more detail! xx

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Entertainment Tuesday #7

I have two songs for you ET today. The first song is Holding Out For a Hero by Ella Mae Bowen and I first heard it when the remake of Footloose came out a few years ago. I remember I would play it constantly when I would go for walks or bike rides in the middle of the night, thinking of the one I loved at the time. It's such a beautiful song, both lyrically and melodically. I remembered it a few days ago and I haven't stopped playing it since. I love this song so much and honestly, it brings back so many memories, it can bring me close to tears and I love songs like that. I love songs that can evoke so much emotion in a person. Check it out believe and feel the feels. <3


The second song I have for you is the newest song, Falling Apart by a wonderful YouTube musician, Trisha Writes Music. Her lyrics are so honest and I think it is extremely brave to put your heart and soul into a song and then put it out there to help people. She is an amazing girl, I have spoken to her several times and I know that she means every word in her songs. Falling Apart made me cry because it's so real and it's a song of hope, a reminder that things do get better. I love Trisha and her music and I can't wait to see how she continues to grow as a person and musician. <3


Monday, March 14, 2016

The Highlights #6

I do apologize I have yet another post a day late! Please be gentle, I'm still getting used to have a blogging schedule. LOL Last week, was a hard week, but a blessed week. I found myself struggling with both my addiction program and my eating disorder program, but both of the women who mentor me in either program were so incredibly understanding and encouraging. They're guiding me in my recovery day by day and I couldn't be more grateful for these incredible women in my life.

I'm also very grateful for my mom and my best friend, Dalton because early in the week, I took a big blow to my self-esteem, which already isn't very high as it is. They were both very supportive and comforting and reminded me that I can change my life and they believe me which is always a comfort.

I spent some time with my friend Nala as well who I adore! She is the cutest person ever and so knowledgeable about all things beauty! We took some photos for her new blog, makeupbynala.com, and I've got to say the photos turned out beautifully! That's mainly down to Nala's makeup skills, but I'll give myself a pat on the back as well for having a tiny bit of a photographic eye. LOL

Overall, a week that I can only be grateful for. I hope you're all well! xx










Thursday, March 10, 2016

Fashion: Lust

Fashion has been an interest of mine for years, it can be such a great way to express aspects of you personality. Last week, I posted outfits that I could and would currently wear. The outfits below are the outfits I, now day, wish to be able to wear confidently. Don't get me wrong, I'm a firm believer in wearing exactly what you want. no matter what you look like or what size you are. However, for me personally, I can't wear these clothes and be comfortable and confident in them with the body I have now. I'm working to achieve a healthy body that I can be proud of and again, I'd like to stress that loving the body you have and wearing whatever you want and feeling beautiful and sexy is so important, but I'm just not quite there yet in my self-esteem. I know that I one day will be though. For now, I'll lust after outfits like these and use them as motivation to get to where I want to be, whether that mentally or physically. I truly hope you're all well. Ta for now, my lovelies. xx

Fashion: Lust





Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Entertainment Tuesday #6

There is one YouTuber I have been watching non-stop this past week and maybe even the week before and it is none other than the beautiful Kathleen Lights. I'm sure most of you know who she is, but for those of you that don't, she is this gorgeous, bubbly, little Latina beauty guru. She does everything from gorgeous tutorials to product reviews and favorites! My personal favorite videos from her are any of the videos where she talks about products that she loves meaning haul videos and favorites videos. She's so descriptive and brutally honest about each product and watching her videos has completely made me want to buy a million different products.

That leads me into my next entertainment piece: Pinterest. Because there were so, so many products I wanted to get because of Kathleen, I made a board on my Pinterest profile for all of the makeup and fashion things I'm lusting after. I've been pinning things left and right and I'm just loving the website all over again.

One last thing about Kathleen; her Kat Chats videos are so entertaining! They're basically story time videos and boy, does she have some funny stories! Her most recent Kat Chats about awkward boy stories had me rolling around my bed, laughing out loud! I highly recommend checking out her channel if you haven't already!

Ta! xx


Sunday, March 6, 2016

The Highlights #5


This is a bit of a cheat, but this Sunday's post caught me so off guard (hence, the posting at nearly 12am)! Watch my newest weekly vlog to see a bit what I got up to this week! If you like silly dancing to current pop hits, you'll like this one. ;)

xx

Friday, March 4, 2016

FASHION

Hello lovely people! I do apologize that this post is a day late! Normally on Thursdays, I would write about something beauty related, but I'd like to start incorporating fashion posts into my Thursday slot as well! Fashion for me can be complicated because although I enjoy the pieces I currently wear, there is a particular style that I enjoy lusting after for when I'm slightly more in shape, so to speak. My current style icons are Kendall Jenner, Florencia from the blog Flo Loves Clothes, and my girl who I've looked up to fashion wise for years and years, the beautiful Eleanor Calder. I thought today I would put together a set of outfits I know I can currently wear (assuming everything would be available in my size LOL) and next week I'll show you outfits I'll be wearing when I'm bit slimmer! ;) Ta for now!

Untitled #82




Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Entertainment Tuesday #5



Today I bring a to you a repeat offender; Ear Biscuits! I've been absolutely loving podcasts this week, but Ear Biscuits, Rhett and Link's podcast, in particular is what has been helping me get up in the morning! In the morning, I'll typically watch YouTube while I drink coffee before I walk my dog, but sometimes I don't always want to watch videos, but I still want to hear some kind of a dialogue to get my brain up and running. That's where podcasts come in! And the great thing about podcasts is you can take them on the go so I typically will continue listening to the podcast while I walk my dog as well.

I've been enjoying Ear Biscuits the most because, first of all, Rhett and Link have wonderful podcast voices, if I'm honest. LOL In all seriousness, I think the quality of the audio really does play a role in how much I enjoy a podcast or not; I like that the guests they have are always in the studio so the dialogue is super clear and crisp. It just makes for a much more enjoyable listen. I like that Rhett and Link interview their guests about their back stories and we get to hear more in depth detail about where the guest came from, whether that be a YouTuber or an on-screen actor, Rhett and Link get down to the nitty gritty. In certain episodes, you'll even hear the guests compare the podcast to a therapy session.

Ear Biscuits has been around for quite some time now so what's great is that to a new listener, there's a plethora of amazing episodes to hear! I've started from episode one where they interviewed Grace Helbig, one of my all time favorite content creators,  and today I listened to their interview with Philip DeFranco who I've never watched on YouTube before, but I was still able to enjoy the interview, maybe even more than if I had watched him before. It's just so amazing to hear someone's life story and how they got to where they are now. Phil, for example, went through a truly turbulent life growing up, which you'd never guess from the sense of humor that he conveys; he has a truly incredible life story. If you've got some time on your hands, check out some podcasts on Spotify, Soundcloud, or iTunes, particularly Ear Biscuits!

I hope you enjoyed tonight's Entertainment Tuesday! Ta for now! xx

Sunday, February 28, 2016

The Highlights #3

Besides both my parents and I being sick, I've had a wonderful week! I spent a lot of time with Dalton as per usual and as I took care of him when he was sick last week, he sort of did this same for me this week. LOL Before we all got sick, I drove around town quite a bit running errands, so I actually put makeup on which is a rarity these days. Something I've realized is, I feel so, so much more confident with makeup on. I'm not trying to hide anything (if you watch my vlogs, you'll know I'm very comfortable makeup free), but having makeup on just gives a boost of self confidence; it adds a bit of a pep in my step.

FYI the septum is fake 😜



One benefit of being sick with my parents is that I spent a lot of time with my mom; we caught up on the current season of Criminal Minds because we were mega behind and still sort of are, but we're getting there. I really do enjoy spending time with my mom; we've both been showing an insane amount of gratitude towards each other this week. She sincerely thanked me many, many times for taking care of the house since she's been a bit out of commission the past several months so to speak. I've been trying to show appreciation in every way possible to all of my loved ones, especially my mom. I mentioned last week that, through my buddhist practice, I want to become a more appreciative, compassionate person and I feel I'm making progress. I've been chanting every day which is a huge step for me. 

As far as my recovery from my eating disorders and trying to get healthy, I'm making small steps. I got a sponsor in my program that I'm part of and she's meant to help me with meal planning and staying abstinent from foods that I binge on and from purging. I have hope that I can do this and become a healthy person. 


It's been a good week, not too eventful, but good and that's all I can ask for. I'm grateful for what and  who I have today in my life and I am determined to further enrich my life. I hope you're all doing well! Ta for now!




Thursday, February 25, 2016

On The Bandwagon|Nivea Men Sensitive Cooling Post Shave Balm|Primer

There's been a ton of buzz in the YouTube beauty community about the Nivea Men Post Shave balm being used as a primer. I first heard about this from Kathleen Lights and Jaclyn Hill and Jaclyn says the reason it works so well as a primer is because of the high amount of glycerin in it. Now most people have been using either the regular or the sensitive, but I got the sensitive, cooling post shave balm because it was the only one I could really get my hands on.


The product applies a bit like a standard moisturizer and it does have a nice, subtle cooling effect, but as you massage it in, it becomes somewhat tacky. Once it's tacky, that's when you know you're good to apply your base. I used the Rimmel Lasting Foundation 24 Hour Foundation and I did find that it blended a lot more easily than when I hadn't used the product. Speaking of blendability, any powder product I used (bronzer, blush, highlight) blended into my skin so well! There was no patchiness and it was just a very smooth application.

Before
I wore the primer for about six hours one day for two days and both times, I did find that my makeup lasted much better. On the first day, I noticed that my blush and highlighter, usually the first thing to disappear, were still very much in tact! The second day is where the photos below are form. On this day, I didn't wear too much face makeup other than foundation because my main focus was the eyes and lips. Considering I had taken a nap and gone to the gym with the makeup on with the primer underneath, I'd say it held up incredibly well! Normally after a nap or gym session, my hyper pigmentation will be clearly visible, but with the Nivea post shave balm, that wasn't the case at all as you can see in the after photo. Overall, I'd say this product works as a great primer that makes your makeup last that little bit longer and makes things look a whole lot smoother and blended together. I'd also quickly like to add that this product made it so that I could not feel any makeup when I touched my face, it just felt like my skin! Normally, I can always tell when I have foundation on when I touch my face, but this made it so that I couldn't feel anything. So awesome and for the price of around six bucks? You can't go wrong!

After
I do hope you enjoyed this post and let me know if you've tried any of the Nivea Men pots shave balms or if you want to! I hope you're all having a wonderful week! xx

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Entertainment Tuesday #4

American Candy

American Candy is The Maine's fifth studio album and I can honestly say, it's my favorite album they've ever released! I've been a huge fan of The Maine for about eight years now; I used to go to every Southern California show they would play and I even street teamed for their record label at the time, Fearless Records. Street teaming gave me a lot of cool opportunities to hang out with the band even more than I already was; a lot of backstage access, all very exciting! As I got older and busier, though, I stopped seeing them play, but I never stopped listening to them. All of their albums are incredible, but American Candy has become a part of me.

American Candy is your classic alternative/pop-punk/indie record with some of my favorite tracks being Am I Pretty?, (Un)lost, and American Candy. In all honesty, the whole album is so well written and the music behind the lyrics is so perfect for just driving around with friends on a beautiful day. There's a song called 24 Floors, a song John O'Callaghan (lead vocals) wrote about his deep depression that he went through when he was in his early twenties. It's such a darkly honest song about feeling like things will never get better, but the band pushes the message that things do get better and just to hold on to that a little bit longer.

The actual track, American Candy, is one of my absolute favorites because I relate to it so much! The candy they sing of could be anything from media, material things, to drugs and the chorus "They've got American candy/For the American kids/And even if you wanted to you couldn't stop/It's just so sweet/ But this American candy/It'll rot your teeth" and lines like "Try to think back to/Back to a time when/You loved what you loved/Because you loved it are so incredibly powerful. Give the song a listen and tell me what you think because it can be interpreted in so many ways, but either way you interpret it, there's a real depth and truth to the words.

I almost forgot how incredible the album is until I was driving around town with Dalton yesterday and we were just cruisin' along, windows down, breeze in the air, belting out the words to each song. The Maine as a whole have saved my life and got me through more difficult times than they will every understand and that is why they and American Candy are this week's Entertainment Tuesday. :) I'll leave you with the first single they released off the album, English Girls. Enjoy! xx




Sunday, February 21, 2016

The Highlights #2

Hello, hello! This past week was completely unproductive! 😑 I spent most of the week in bed with my best friend/old roommate, Dalton, who got pretty sick around Monday. He just recently moved out, but he still spends a lot of time with me and my family and once he got sick, he figured it was easier to spend his days sick in my bed than in his own. I do love him, so. We spent our time sleeping and watching Criminal Minds episode after episode.

Today, so far has been awesome! I went to a Buddhist meeting at my friend's house and I am so grateful that I went! Over the past two weeks or so, I've been having a bit of trouble with my faith. Faith, of any kind, is fairly new to me as I hadn't practiced any religion since I was 15 many, many moons ago. I've only been practicing Buddhism since August of last year and a few weeks ago, when my mom was at worst with her sickness, I found myself questioning why am I doing this? So I've avoided sitting in front of my Gohonzon (a scroll/altar we chant to in order to bring out our best version of ourselves) and chanting all this time and today I was reminded why we have faith. We make certain causes in our lives that then reap effects, good or bad, but we make those causes every day. We can make a cause to be a more appreciative, compassionate human being, for example, and I was reminded today that I want to be that. Sure, I can do that without Buddhism, but I WANT to practice Buddhism again and reap the benefits of having faith in something outside of myself.

As far as goals from last week, I completely failed on all of them other than the cutting back on smoking. THAT! I did accomplish a bit! I cut back a lot, I'll come up with a number for you in next week's highlights, but I can tell I definitely smoked less. So thumbs up there! Other than that, my eating was mostly all over the place at the beginning of the week, but according to my weekly food diary, I started eating better over the past few days. Progress not perfection, eh?

I'm going grocery shopping tonight to grab some HEALTHY options for the week and I'm happy to say my list is the healthiest it's looked in a long time. I'm going to be cooking two meals for my mom and I, but besides those I'll be keeping it fairly simple with breakfast smoothies and tuna salad. Before I go to bed, I'm also going to map out what support groups I'll be attending this week, which is what I've done every Sunday for about a month now, but tonight I'm going to put a little more in depth thinking and research into them so I'm more likely to go. Thumbs up all around!

Since my goals weren't fully met (to say the least), I'm going to transfer them to this week's goals along with a few others. ☺️

GOALS:

  • Eat breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner every day.
  • Continue cutting back on smoking cigarettes.
  • Ice and wrap my ankle every day.
  • Practice driving and read the driver's manual for my test on Thursday! (EXCITED!)
  • Chant and meditate daily.
  • Read more books!
  • Attend 4 - 5 support groups.
Lastly, here are the few photos I snapped last week!

Mmm, apples and peanut butter = current favorite snack!
Yoghurt and granola = best quick and easy breakfast!
Since 1D's newest album was released, it was easy for me to forget their old ones. How did I ever let that happen?? Midnight Memories is still so good! :)
You've got to love that SoCal weather!
Hope you're all well! xx

Friday, February 19, 2016

My Nighttime Skincare Routine

My nighttime skincare routine is very similar to my morning routine, with a the addition of a few more products; a makeup remover, a physical exfoliator, a mask, and a thicker moisturizer.


I start my nighttime regime with the Vichy Purete Thermale, which is a waterless cleanser. I use this strictly as a makeup remover and the way this product works is it comes out as a milk. I apply it to dry skin and it dissolves my makeup, including waterproof mascara, and I then wipe it away with a muslin cloth. It's very similar to a micellar water, but I find it's slightly more nourishing and less stripping than most micellar waters that I've tried. It's so easy to use and after a night out it'll suffice on its own without a second cleanse. 


Next, I use the Philosophy Purity One Step Facial Cleanser as my second cleanse and I typically do a second cleanse after the Purete Thermale because I like to a do a thorough cleanse with a product that I know keeps my acne at bay. After the second cleanse, I move on to my physical exfoliant, the Mario Badescu Botanical Exfoliating Scrub, which I use two to three times a week. Physical exfoliants are a bit controversial, but I love, love, love this scrub because it's gentle, but effective. The physical bits are crushed seeds, from what I can remember, so it's far more natural than other scrubs.


I only do this next step, again, two to three times a week. This Clarisonic Detoxifying Mask is incredible! It's honestly one of the best masks I've ever used! It really does pull out all the dirt and gunk from your pores over the next day or two following one use. It's seriously so good, give it a try if you're looking for an awesome mud mask. I also found that it doesn't dry out my skin at all. Last step is the Mario Badescu Seaweed Moisturizer. Now this product is nothing special to me, if I'm honest. I started using it in the winter because my skin tends to get a bit more dry and this helped to keep the dryness away. I enjoy it, but it's not necessarily a stand out product for me.


Overall, I'm very happy with my skincare routine at the moment and I don't see myself changing anything any time soon. If you enjoy these sort of "beauty and cosmetics" posts, please do let me know! Ta for now!

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Entertainment Tuesday #3

I'd like to apologize for how late this is going up tonight and I have no other explanation than I've basically been asleep all day. Soooo without further adeu, I'd like to present to you....the Elektro Botz!!


This dance crew from the Phoenix area of Arizona has completely stolen my heart, recently! I've been following them on Vine for a long time now, which I believe is where they first started gaining an online following. The video above is from the World of Dance awards ceremony where they won the award for Up and Coming Artist of the Year! Huge congratulations to Phoenix, Max, and Dominic on the win and the crazy success! I think I'll let their dancing speak for itself. ;)

Sunday, February 14, 2016

The Highlights #1

The Highlights is basically a look back at my week and this is the first of one to come every Sunday evening; I hope you enjoy! First off, I was reunited with an old coworker of mine, Nala (amazing name, I know). She picked me up mid-afternoon and we headed to one of the most beautiful malls in our area where we made the usual stops: Sephora, Nordstrom, Topshop, and even a cheeky look into Saint Laurent. She and I stopped for dinner and not much talking was done as we were so hungry, but afterwards we talked about so many things from boys to tattoos. Absolutely love that girl!



The week days were pretty standard for me, I attended a few support groups, watched Criminal Minds with my mom, and hung out with my dog, Toby. I found it quite hard finding any motivation to do anything this past week; there were a lot of "I don't want to leave my room or even my bed, for that matter," kind of days. I'm not necessarily feeling down or anything, but I think I just know that I have so much to work on with myself, that I get scared into this mode of not doing anything because I'm afraid to make any move one way or another. Does that make any sense? Anyway, here's to a better week next week.  :)


 



Yesterday was a great way to end the week! One of my best friends drove up from San Diego to see off a friend of ours who's going into the Navy Seals and she was able to make some time for little old me first. So sweet! Caitlyn, her boyfriend, and I met up with some of our other best friends and headed to our old stomping ground AKA a town center in the city where we all used to live to get some nom nom. They dined on fish burritos and pizza, but I stuck with my Starbucks Passion Tea. We had a great time catching up and reminiscing and causing a bit of havoc here and there among the somewhat stuck up older folk who looked down their noses at us and then went our separate ways. A good time, I'd say. ;)





At the end of each The Highlights post, I'd like to set some goals for the next week. If you've got any goals for the next week, always feel free to leave them in the comments.

GOALS:

  • Eat breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner every day.
  • Cut back on smoking cigarettes.
  • Ice my ankle EVERY DAY! (Dang thing is still sprained.)
  • Attend 4-5 support groups.
  • Continue practicing my driving.
  • Meditate once a day.
I'm hoping I can look back at this little list every day next week and keep to them. Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I'll speak to you next week!